"A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." — BXVI

30 May 2014

Before joy comes grief

NB. The Laptop took advantage of my de-caffeinated state this morning to suggest that I upgrade to Windows 8.1. In a fog, I clicked "OK," and then spent an hour waiting for the thing to finish. So. . .a borrowed (and boring) homily from 2012.

UPDATE: I'd forgotten that Dcn John preaches on Friday morning! You and I both were spared this homily.

They
disciples are confused. . .as they often are. Jesus says something
completely befuddling and his poor students are left muttering among
themselves, trying to figure out what he's what he means. Since the
disciples are often confused by Jesus' cryptic statements and
non-answers to their questions, you'd think that they would
eventually learn to just smile, nod, and pretend to understand when
he comes out with one of his weird parables or mysterious
revelations. But they persevere and soldier on toward learning
whatever it is that Jesus is trying to teach them. One of the truths
that Jesus has been trying (unsuccessfully) to teach his disciples is
that all that they need to know to be preachers of the gospel won't
be available to them until he has gone to the Father. Only after he
has ascended to heaven can the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit,
descend upon them and give them the tongues of fire they will need to
preach. So, Jesus prophesies, “. . . .you will weep and mourn [at
my departure]. . .you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
Before joy comes grief.

In
his prophecy to the disciples Jesus notes that “while the world
rejoices [at my departure]; you will grieve. . .” And it is not too
difficult for us to imagine that the Jewish leaders and Roman
officials are indeed very relieved to see Jesus die on the cross.
First century Judea under Roman occupation was a seething hotbed of
violent revolution, religious strife, and political corruption. The
last thing any in charge wanted or needed was another messianic
figure throwing bombs. However, when Jesus says that “the world”
will rejoice at his departure, he isn't talking about the temple and
empire only. “The world” is the term used in scripture to mean
something like “all that is ruled by darkness,” the realm that
has not yet surrendered to God. This darkened parcel of creation is
under the influence of the Enemy, and plots behind the scenes to
tempt, influence, and corrupt those creatures who have come into the
Lord's holy family. If the world sees Jesus as just another prophet
sent by God to corral His wayward people, then Jesus' death on the
cross could easily be taken as a victory for the Enemy and as an
occasion for rejoicing among the damned. While the Enemy rejoices
over a temporary victory, the Lord's disciples grieve over an equally
temporary defeat.

Before
joy comes grief. “A little while and you will no longer see me, and
again a little while later and you will see me.” That “little
while” is the time for grieving. Just a little while. Why so short
a time for mourning? How long can you mourn the passing of someone
who's coming back “in a little while”? Does it even make sense to
mourn the loss of someone you know will return? Jesus knows that his
passing, his ascension will be taken hard by the disciples. He also
knows that every assurance he can give them that he will return to
them won't lessen their grief. Even the promise of the coming of the
Holy Spirit and the joy of knowing the “truth of all things” will
prevent their mourning. They must mourn b/c they will preach to those
who mourn. And they must preach against death, permanent death and
the grief that follows it like a vulture. And then they must
experience the fiery joy of the Holy Spirit b/c they must preach
against falsehood, confusion, despair, and dissension. The disciples
are confused by Christ's teachings b/c they have yet to receive the
Spirit of Truth. They will. And we already have. Our time for
mourning is up; our grieving, our frustration and aggravation are
done. It is time to preach the joy of the Holy Spirit and the love of
Christ Jesus.